1734 English cricket season

In the 1734 English cricket season, the active teams were four counties (Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex); and two clubs (Croydon and London). Records have been found of the earliest known match at the Vine Cricket Ground in Sevenoaks (aka Sevenoaks Vine). Details of eight matches are known.^{[note 1]}

London v Croydon

These teams had been rivals for some years past, but relations took a turn for the worst in 1734 after Croydon allegedly failed to arrive for a match which London said had definitely been arranged. The London people were especially aggrieved that Croydon did this after "having been regaled with a good dinner".^[5]

The teams had met twice in mid-season. Croydon won at Duppas Hill on or about 25 July,^[6] and London won a return match at the Artillery Ground on 1 August.^[7]^[8] Then, in September, London issued a challenge "to play with any eleven men in England, with this exception only, that they will not admit of one from Croydon".^[9] No surviving post-match report has been found and so there is no evidence that the game took place. As London wished to play "any eleven men in England" (excluding players from Croydon), and not just any team in England, it appears that they welcomed allcomers and that the players in the "any eleven" team, if it was formed, would have been drawn from a number of clubs and counties.^[5]

London v Kent

London had two matches against Kent, the first on 12 June at Dartford Brent.^[8] A report said that London won "though there was 6 to 4 laid against London in the middle of the game".^[7] No scores are known. The return match was a week later, at the Artillery Ground on 19 June.^[8] This time, London won convincingly by an innings & 25 runs. Kent scored 31 and 51; London scored 107.^[7]

London v Surrey

London played Surrey on 26 August at Kennington Common.^[8] The result is unknown. The match was pre-announced in the London Evening Post of Thursday, 22 August. It says: "the wickets to be pitched precisely (sic) between 12 and 1 o'clock"! No surviving post-match report has been found.^[7]

Kent v Sussex

Kent and Sussex played each other on 6 and 11 September. The first match was on Sevenoaks Vine, its earliest known use as a venue.^[8] Lord Middlesex (1710–1769) and his brother Lord John Philip Sackville (1713–1765) played for Kent; and Sir William Gage for Sussex. Kent won by an unknown margin.^[9] The game on 11 September was to be played in Lewes, perhaps at The Dripping Pan, but no post-match report has been found.^[10]

Other events

On Thursday, 13 June, the St James Evening Post reported a couple of serious injuries in a private match at the Artillery Ground:^[7]

...a stander-by (sic) had the misfortune to have his knee-pan (i.e., patella) put out by a blow from the ball, and another was much bruised in the face by a like accident.

A game between London and Sevenoaks, arranged for Monday, 8 July, on Kennington Common, was not played due to the non-appearance of the Sevenoaks team. The Whitehall Evening Post reported that, according to the Articles of Agreement, their deposit money was forfeit.^[7]

Notes

^ Some eleven-a-side matches played from 1772 to 1863 have been rated "first-class" by certain sources.^[1] However, the term only came into common use around 1864, when overarm bowling was legalised. It was formally defined as a standard by a meeting at Lord's, in May 1894, of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the county clubs which were then competing in the County Championship. The ruling was effective from the beginning of the 1895 season, but pre-1895 matches of the same standard have no official definition of status because the ruling is not retrospective.^[2] Matches of a similar standard since the beginning of the 1864 season are generally considered to have an unofficial first-class status.^[3] Pre-1864 matches which are included in the ACS' "Important Match Guide" may generally be regarded as top-class or, at least, historically significant.^[4] For further information, see First-class cricket.

References

^ "First-Class matches in England in 1772". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
^ Wisden (1948). Preston, Hubert (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (85th ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 813. OCLC 851705816.
^ ACS 1982, pp. 4–5.
^ ACS 1981, pp. 1–40.
^ ^a ^b Maun 2009, pp. 65–66.
^ Waghorn 1899, p. 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Buckley 1935, p. 9.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ACS 1981, p. 20.
^ ^a ^b Waghorn 1899, p. 7.
^ McCann 2004, p. 15.

Bibliography

ACS (1981). A Guide to Important Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles 1709–1863. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 85045528.
ACS (1982). A Guide to First-class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS. OCLC 10586869.
Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. OCLC 23450280.
Maun, Ian (2009). From Commons to Lord's, Volume One: 1700 to 1750. Cambridge: Roger Heavens. ISBN 978-19-00592-52-9.
McCann, Tim (2004). Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century (PDF). Vol. 88. Lewes: West Sussex Record Office. ISBN 978-08-54450-55-8.
Waghorn, H. T. (1899). Cricket Scores, Notes, &c. From 1730–1773. Edinburgh: Blackwood. OCLC 1086375331.